Diddy graced The Yard at Howard University in Washington, DC (May 10) to receive an honorary degree in humanities and deliver the class of 2014 commencement address. “Only this family could take one of its sons who already had three name changes and give him a fourth,” he joked with the crowd.

The media mogul attended Howard for two years in the 1990s before dropping out to pursue opportunities that ultimately launched his career. Although there was some criticism over the decision to make the entertainer and philanthropist this year’s keynote speaker, the class of 2014 crowd gave him a standing ovation and chanted “HU, you know!” after the speech, which was live-streamed on the website of Diddy’s cable network REVOLT. “Ain’t no homecoming like a Howard homecoming,” he said during his address, adding, “Howard University didn’t just change my life – it entered my soul, my heart, my being and my spirit.”